Vesterbro

This neighborhood west of the main train station in Copenhagen has apparently undergone major changes in the last few decades -- positive ones, at least from a traveler's perspective. We spent four nights in a first floor apartment on Skydebanegade, about five minutes walking from the train station.

Early morning coffee in Copenhagen was a bit challenging, but I found it at both Prolog Coffee Bar and at Bagerdygtigt, around the corner from our apartment. We loved Mad & Kaffee, where we ate breakfast at the same outside table two different days.

For an urban neighborhood, the streets were remarkably quiet. Mainly due to the small number of cars. Everyone moves around by bike - or transit. We saw business people, laborers, tourists, students, families -- all on bike. Some folks wore nice clothes. They were accompanied by kids - either onboard or on their own bikes. Maybe a third of the riders wore helmets. The bikes were utilitarian - most were black and many had step-through frames. They had racks, baskets, and cargo carriers. They all had kickstands and built-in locks, although I suspect one benefit of the unremarkable bikes is that there's little incentive to steal. Almost all were single speed or internal gearing. There were almost no derailleurs, panniers, or dropped handlebars. Bikes were lined up in racks and along the sidewalks next to apartment buildings.